Brilliant, boring or boringly brilliant - call them what you like. Arsenal are nine points ahead of their alleged peers with 11 games remaining and only Europe left to conquer. Whatever the team's lingering eccentricities, few but the curmudgeonly would argue that they do not deserve to be compared with the finest British teams of the past.

For the first hour or so in Arsenal's twenty-seventh unbeaten league game in a row this season, Charlton Athletic merely shared a pitch with them. Manchester United or Chelsea, disappearing into the distance behind Arsenal now, might have done little better.

But, having scored twice in four minutes at the start, Arsenal revealed their old weakness: a curious mixture of lethargy and complacency. At the end, they were clinging to their lead like nervous kittens.

Arsène Wenger, who might still have nightmares about giving up the title to United last year, watched in dismay as substitute Jonatan Johansson came within half an inch of equalising, his overhead kick from just outside the penalty area hitting a post two minutes into injury time.

Spike Lee was the latest visiting celebrity to discover the phenomenon that is Arsenal, so the American film director will have left Highbury at least educated in the ways of pulsating football drama. The Great Arsenal Stadium Mystery II coming up?

Wenger conceded that it was 'worrying' to play so well, then nearly throw away the win. He thought that they 'dropped a little bit physically'. While this was their eighth 2-1 win of the Premiership season, it might have been their eighth draw. Compute that, tweak the odd lucky bounce here and there, and we might be looking at a different denouement. Certainly Sir Alex Ferguson will mull over lost chances. And Alan Curbishley thought that Arsenal's goals were offside - a desperate call.

Nit-picking and regrets aside, seven games ago Arsenal were three points behind United. A month and three games from now, they will have the chance to make a definitive statement about their Premiership dominance when they entertain Ferguson's team. There is little to suggest that the table will look a lot different then and all evidence points to this team being on a par with their 2002 double side, who won their last 13 games.

It is hard enough going to Highbury on what might thinly be regarded as level terms, but to give up two goals in the first few minutes is laughing at the gods. Whatever the legitimacy of Curbishley's view, the goals were wrought from exquisite Arsenal movement. They had 21 shots on goal all day, 11 of them on target, compared with three and four by Charlton.

There was a smooth inevitability about Robert Pires's thirteenth of the season. Thierry Henry, who seems to move inside an unbreakable force shield, had ghosted unnoticed into the penalty area - unnoticed by all except Fredrik Ljungberg, that is, who laid on a short, simple pass that prised open the left side of the back four. Pires took his prize with nerveless ease.

Two minutes later, Henry hurt Charlton badly with a one-two that would have done Ali proud, bringing his Premiership tally to 20 goals. Few will have been more straightforward. The imperious Frenchman tapped in from four yards after floating on to a sharp pass from his poorly guarded captain, Patrick Vieira, across the back of a sleepy defence. Slaughter beckoned.

At the other end, the gates remain firmly locked in the last third of the pitch, with Kolo Touré again impressive. His unflustered dispossessing of Carlton Cole was reminiscent of Bobby Moore at his best.

But there is no discounting Paolo Di Canio. Making space off the ball, he was afforded the luxury of a lofted strike in the 20th minute, but the shot drifted harmlessly through the icy air into the North Bank.

Having wounded Charlton so early and perfunctorily, Arsenal slipped into a period of profligacy. The second half was meandering along as per the script, and then, in the 59th minute, Claus Jensen produced a sublime strike from 30 yards that left Jens Lehmann thrashing at the air. Within a minute, Henry was firing the ball at Dean Kiely from two yards. From a corner, Vieira leapt alone and headed wide for an unforgiveable miss. The cakewalk had morphed into a contest.

Then, when Johansson's shot brought Wenger to his feet in the dugout, you were reminded that, whatever you call Arsenal, you will always have to call them lucky.